Phys.org news tagged with:tree mortalityhttp://phys.org/
en-usPhys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.Predicting tree mortalityA combination of drought, heat and insects is responsible for the death of more than 12 million trees in California, according to a new study from UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). Members of the NCEAS working group studying environmental factors contributing to tree mortality expect this number to increase with climate change.http://phys.org/news/2015-06-tree-mortality.html
Environment Tue, 09 Jun 2015 17:32:12 EDTnews353089868Drought damage leads to widespread forest deathThe 2000-2003 drought in the American southwest triggered a widespread die-off of forests around the region. A Carnegie-led team of scientists developed a new modeling tool to explain how and where trembling aspen forests died as a result of this drought. It is based on damage to the individual trees' ability to transport water under water-stressed conditions.http://phys.org/news/2015-03-drought-widespread-forest-death.html
Environment Mon, 30 Mar 2015 11:08:52 EDTnews346932523Competition between trees the main driver of forest changeContrary to conventional wisdom, new research reveals that it is competition, not climate change, that has a greater impact on the changing composition of forests in Western Canada.http://phys.org/news/2015-03-competition-trees-main-driver-forest.html
Environment Fri, 20 Mar 2015 07:11:22 EDTnews346054232Amazon's carbon uptake declines as trees die fasterThe most extensive land-based study of the Amazon to date reveals it is losing its capacity to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. From a peak of two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year in the 1990s, the net uptake by the forest has halved and is now for the first time being overtaken by fossil fuel emissions in Latin America.http://phys.org/news/2015-03-amazon-carbon-uptake-declines-trees.html
Environment Wed, 18 Mar 2015 14:00:03 EDTnews345896038Fire and drought may push Amazonian forests beyond tipping pointFuture simulations of climate in the Amazon suggest a longer dry season leading to more drought and fires. Woods Hole Research Center scientists Michael Coe, Paulo Brando, Marcia Macedo and colleagues have published a new study on the impacts of fire and drought on Amazon tree mortality. Their paper entitled "Abrupt increases in Amazonian tree mortality due to drought-fire interactions," published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that prolonged droughts caused more intense and widespread wildfires, which consumed more forests in Amazonia than previously understood.http://phys.org/news/2014-04-drought-amazonian-forests.html
Environment Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:11:55 EDTnews316707102Lowering stand density reduces mortality of ponderosa pine standsAs trees grow larger in even-aged stands, competition develops among them. Competition weakens trees, as they contend for soil moisture, nutrients, and sunlight. Competition also increases trees' risk to bark beetles and diseases, and subsequently leads to a buildup of dead fuels. A recent study, led by Dr. Jianwei Zhang, research forester at the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station, considered if the onset of this risk could be determined. The study, which appears in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, also considered if the relationship between density and mortality varies with site quality as ponderosa pine stands developed.http://phys.org/news/2013-11-lowering-density-mortality-ponderosa.html
Environment Tue, 26 Nov 2013 09:18:41 EDTnews304679906Aussie diggers linked to ecosystem declineA new Murdoch University-led study has highlighted the relationship between the loss of Australian digging mammals and ecosystem decline.http://phys.org/news/2013-09-aussie-diggers-linked-ecosystem-decline.html
Ecology Wed, 25 Sep 2013 10:42:02 EDTnews299324502Forest Service study finds urban trees removing fine particulate air pollution, saving livesIn the first effort to estimate the overall impact of a city's urban forest on concentrations of fine particulate pollution (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns, or PM2.5), a U.S. Forest Service and Davey Institute study found that urban trees and forests are saving an average of one life every year per city. In New York City, trees save an average of eight lives every year.http://phys.org/news/2013-06-forest-urban-trees-fine-particulate.html
Environment Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:15:01 EDTnews290884481'Watering the forest for the trees' emerging as priority for forest managementA new analysis led by the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station encourages resource managers to consider a broadened view of forests as consumers of water.http://phys.org/news/2013-06-forest-trees-emerging-priority.html
Environment Tue, 04 Jun 2013 09:27:57 EDTnews289556872Effects of interannual climate variability on tropical tree coverTree cover in the tropics will likely change in surprising ways as climate change increases the frequency of extreme rainfall events, according to a study by scientists from Wageningen University published today in Nature Climate Change.http://phys.org/news/2013-06-effects-interannual-climate-variability-tropical.html
Environment Mon, 03 Jun 2013 07:07:07 EDTnews289462020Dead forests release less carbon into atmosphere than expected(Phys.org) —Billions of trees killed in the wake of mountain pine beetle infestations, ranging from Mexico to Alaska, have not resulted in a large spike in carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, contrary to predictions, a UA-led study has found.http://phys.org/news/2013-03-dead-forests-carbon-atmosphere.html
Environment Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:51:59 EDTnews283423897New tools for detecting previously unknown tree mortality will shed light on role of Amazon forests in carbon cycleThe Earth's forests perform a well-known service to the planet, absorbing a great deal of the carbon dioxide pollution emitted into the atmosphere from human activities. But when trees are killed by natural disturbances, such as fire, drought or wind, their decay also releases carbon back into the atmosphere, making it critical to quantify tree mortality in order to understand the role of forests in the global climate system. Tropical old-growth forests may play a large role in this absorption service, yet tree mortality patterns for these forests are not well understood.http://phys.org/news/2013-01-tools-previously-unknown-tree-mortality.html
Environment Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:00:04 EDTnews278589806Tree and human health may be linkedEvidence is increasing from multiple scientific fields that exposure to the natural environment can improve human health. In a new study by the U.S. Forest Service, the presence of trees was associated with human health.http://phys.org/news/2013-01-tree-human-health-linked.html
Ecology Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:17:09 EDTnews277575423Study shows pine beetle outbreak buffers watersheds from nitrate pollutionA research team involving several scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder has found an unexpected silver lining in the devastating pine beetle outbreaks ravaging the West: Such events do not harm water quality in adjacent streams as scientists had previously believed.http://phys.org/news/2013-01-beetle-outbreak-buffers-watersheds-nitrate.html
Ecology Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:08:38 EDTnews277405690Maple syrup, moose, and the local impacts of climate changeIn the northern hardwood forest, climate change is poised to reduce the viability of the maple syrup industry, spread wildlife diseases and tree pests, and change timber resources. And, according to a new BioScience paper just released by twenty-one scientists, without long-term studies at the local scale—we will be ill-prepared to predict and manage these effects.http://phys.org/news/2012-11-maple-syrup-moose-local-impacts.html
Environment Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:37:21 EDTnews272637432Research reports climate change could cripple Southwestern forestsCombine the tree-ring growth record with historical information, climate records, and computer-model projections of future climate trends, and you get a grim picture for the future of trees in the southwestern United States. That's the word from a team of scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory, the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Arizona, and other partner organizations.http://phys.org/news/2012-09-climate-cripple-southwestern-forests.html
Environment Sun, 30 Sep 2012 14:10:12 EDTnews268233003Study examines forest vulnerability to climate change(Phys.org)—Mid-elevation forests - those between approximately 6,500 to 8,000 feet (1,981 to 2,438 meters) in elevation - are the most sensitive to rising temperatures and changes in precipitation and snowmelt associated with climate change, finds a new University of Colorado Boulder-led study co-funded by NASA. The study looked at how the greenness of Western U.S. forests is linked to fluctuations in year-to-year snowpack.http://phys.org/news/2012-09-forest-vulnerability-climate.html
Environment Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:08:11 EDTnews267959282Forest mortality and climate change: The big pictureOver the past two decades, extensive forest death triggered by hot and dry climatic conditions has been documented on every continent except Antarctica. Forest mortality due to drought and heat stress is expected to increase due to climate change. Although research has focused on isolated incidents of forest mortality, little is known about the potential effects of widespread forest die-offs. A new analysis of the current literature on this topic by Carnegie's William and Leander Anderegg is published September 9 in Nature Climate Change.http://phys.org/news/2012-09-forest-mortality-climate-big-picture.html
Environment Sun, 09 Sep 2012 14:31:42 EDTnews266419895Mountain forest study shows vulnerability to climate changeA new University of Colorado Boulder-led study that ties forest "greenness" in the western United States to fluctuating year-to-year snowpack indicates mid-elevation mountain ecosystems are most sensitive to rising temperatures and changes in precipitation and snowmelt.http://phys.org/news/2012-09-mountain-forest-vulnerability-climate.html
Environment Sun, 09 Sep 2012 14:13:57 EDTnews266418830Biodiversity protects tropical rainforests from drought(Phys.org)—Forest carbon stocks in protected West African rainforests increased despite a 40-year drought, due to a dramatic shift in tree species composition.http://phys.org/news/2012-08-biodiversity-tropical-rainforests-drought.html
Ecology Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:27:15 EDTnews265537627Droughts threaten Bornean rainforestsAt 130 million years old, the rainforests of Southeast Asia are the oldest in the world and home to thousands of plant and animal species, some endemic to these forests. The rainforests also play important roles in modulating regional rainfall as well in the global carbon cycle.http://phys.org/news/2012-07-droughts-threaten-bornean-rainforests.html
Earth Sciences Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:24:01 EDTnews261674634A look back suggests a sobering future of wildfire dangers in US westThe American West has seen a recent increase in large wildfires due to droughts, the build-up of combustible fuel, or biomass, in forests, a spread of fire-prone species and increased tree mortality from insects and heat.http://phys.org/news/2012-02-sobering-future-wildfire-dangers-west.html
Environment Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:13:44 EDTnews248447616Climate change blamed for dead trees in AfricaTrees are dying in the Sahel, a region in Africa south of the Sahara Desert, and human-caused climate change is to blame, according to a new study led by a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley.http://phys.org/news/2011-12-climate-blamed-dead-trees-africa.html
Environment Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:05:33 EDTnews242906726Hurricane damage to forests: Scientists study impacts on carbon cycle(PhysOrg.com) -- When we think of carbon emissions that exacerbate global climate change most of us probably think of the exhaust from automobiles and other vehicles, or smoke billowing from rows of stacks at fossil fuel-burning power plants. But there is a source of large carbon emissions that is not so immediately obvious &#150; the destruction of forest trees through hurricanes. For example, studies led by Jeffrey Chambers, who is now with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), have shown that Hurricane Katrina, the storm that flooded New Orleans and pounded the Gulf coastal areas of Mississippi and Louisiana, uprooted or severely damaged roughly 320 million trees. In terms of the carbon cycle, this devastating loss of vegetation from a single storm was equivalent to about a 10-percent increase in U.S. fossil fuel emissions for a year.http://phys.org/news/2011-05-hurricane-forests-scientists-impacts-carbon.html
Environment Wed, 04 May 2011 06:32:34 EDTnews223709491Risk of beetle outbreaks rise, along with temperature, in the warming WestThe potential for outbreaks of spruce and mountain pine beetles in western North America's forests is likely to increase significantly in the coming decades, according to a study conducted by USDA Forest Service researchers and their colleagues. Their findings, published in the September issue of the journal BioScience, represent the first comprehensive synthesis of the effects of climate change on bark beetles.http://phys.org/news/2010-09-beetle-outbreaks-temperature-west.html
Ecology Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:00:01 EDTnews203190018Fuel treatments reduce wildfire severity, tree mortality in Washington forestsA study conducted by U.S. Forest Service and University of Washington (UW) scientists has found that fuel treatments—even of only a few acres—can reduce fire severity and protect older trees desirable for their timber, wildlife, and carbon-storage value. The finding is part of a three-year study of the 175,000-acre Tripod Fire and is published in the August issue of Canadian Journal of Forest Research.http://phys.org/news/2010-08-fuel-treatments-wildfire-severity-tree.html
Environment Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:22:28 EDTnews201979329Staggering tree loss from 2005 Amazon stormA single, huge, violent storm that swept across the whole Amazon forest in 2005 killed half a billion trees, a new study shows.http://phys.org/news/2010-07-staggering-tree-loss-amazon-storm.html
Environment Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:00:38 EDTnews198165624Tree deaths have doubled across the western US(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey and involving the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates tree deaths in the West's old-growth forests have more than doubled in recent decades, likely from regional warming and related drought conditions.http://phys.org/news/2009-01-tree-deaths-western.html
Environment Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:17:18 EDTnews151856202